Climate Innovation ― Liberal Capitalism and Climate Change

Capitalism is criticized as both the cause of, and the main barrier to, effective mitigation of climate change. Yet, from the earliest days of the international negotiations, states have agreed that technological innovation, believed to be a primary strength of capitalism, is crucial to prevention of a dangerous accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Nations prefer to rely on innovative technologies to reduce emissions than to use regulations to constrain markets and limit social choice. The contributors to this volume show that the strengths of the system that creates ever new consumer products and industrial processes actually prevent the generation of technological innovations that would most effectively mitigate climate change. Through comprehensive research of the US innovation system and how companies respond to its supporting institutions, they demonstrate that liberal capitalism's perceived strengths are also its weaknesses. They also show that current theories of technological innovation are incomplete and suggest the institutional changes needed to generate climate innovations.

Neil Harrison is the Executive Director of The Sustainable Development Institute, USA. He is author of Constructing Sustainable Development, Sustainable Capitalism and the Pursuit of Well-Being, editor of Complexity in World Politics, and co-editor of Science and Politics in the International Environment.

John Mikler is Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Australia. His research interests are primarily focussed on the role of transnational economic actors, particularly multinational corporations, and the interaction between them and states, international organisations and civil society. He is the author of Greening the Car Industry, and The Handbook of Global Companies, as well as over 20 journal articles and book chapters.